


Hellbent for Buffalo

by Bittersweet



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Chicago Blackhawks, Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-30
Updated: 2013-06-30
Packaged: 2017-12-16 14:47:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/863237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bittersweet/pseuds/Bittersweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmas time. Kaner's in Buffalo; Toews is stuck in Chicago. What's a lovesick hockey player to do?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hellbent for Buffalo

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic many months ago, before I really knew anything about the fandom so I apologize for any egregious errors. Thanks to Lyssa8913 who was kind enough to post this on her LiveJournal account (and whom I completely blame for giving me yet another obsession:). I have changed a few spelling/grammatical errors since its first posting. I have no idea when this is set and I don't think Kane has ever had a concussion so please assume it's some imaginary season. Thanks for reading!

“Stay in Chicago man,” Kane’s voice crackled over the phone, the connection breaking up in the storm. “There’s no point getting killed coming out here for two days.”

          “Yeah, I guess.” Toews slumped against the wall of the airport and frowned at the snow whirling past the window, keeping the planes grounded, including the one that was supposed to be taking him to Buffalo, where Kane was recovering from a concussion.

          “I’ll see you…” Kane’s voice cut out, “All-star break…Have…Chris…as…”

          The line died and Toews slid his phone back into his pocket. Right, he was going to have a great Christmas stuck in Chicago without Kane. He walked out of the airport and crossed the parking lot to where his Tahoe was parked, his boots crunching in the fresh snow.

          A month was a long time to go without seeing Kaner but, according to the weather channel, there was no chance of the snow letting up before Boxing Day. He sighed and slid his key into the ignition. The Tahoe purred to life and as he watched the dials light up the needle on the fuel gauge caught his attention. He glanced down at the time on his radio.

          9:00 P.M. on December 23 with a full tank of gas. How far was it to Buffalo? Five hundred miles give or take? He’d bet he could make it there by tomorrow night and be back in Chicago for the Anaheim game. And he already had his travel bag ready.

          Before he could second-guess himself, he’d put the SUV into four-wheel drive and started for the I-90.

~~~

          The roads were an icy mess and Toews had to squint to see through the windshield, the wipers working hard to clear the wet snow but so coated in the white stuff it was a losing battle.

          He had a cup of coffee and a cheese Danish sitting on his dash from the last time he’d stopped to fill the Tahoe’s tank but he’d barely touched them and the coffee was probably as cold as the ice outside.

          It was past midnight and, while the caffeine would probably help keep him awake, he didn’t think it would do his nerves any favours.

          He glanced at the odometer and forced himself to slow down; as much as he wanted to see Kane, he still wanted to be in one piece when he got there. You knew the weather was bad when no one complained about him doing 60 on the interstate.

          His engine made a sputtering noise and he swore as it whined and started to slow. He barely got over to the shoulder when everything went dead.

          “Aw hell.” He dropped his forehead to the top of his steering wheel and punched the horn, which gave an irritable honk. “Of course the horn still works.”

          He got out of the Tahoe to see what was wrong, praying it was something that he could fix.

          He poked around under the hood for a few minutes, shivering as the wet snow soaked through his jacket, before giving up and looking around.

          There were no lights on the road and everything was coated in white as far as he could see. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and got back into the SUV. He checked the Tahoe’s GPS first, not surprised that it wasn’t working, then hit the button on his phone, the screen flashed up with little green letters telling him No Signal.

          He leaned back in the seat, wondering whether he could walk back to the last town he’d passed, he might be able to find a bus or something still running to take him the rest of the way.

          As he pondered, he saw something moving through the snow in his rear-view mirror. As the large grey shape drew closer, he realized it was a semi. It was moving slowly enough he bet he could catch his attention.

          He pressed down on the horn a few times then threw the door open and ran as close as he dared to the road, waving his arms.

          The semi passed him then stopped a sort way up the road.

          Toews stared in disbelief then ran back to the Tahoe, grabbed his bag, locked the doors, and jogged up to the waiting semi. Just as he reached it, the driver’s door opened and an older man stepped out.

          “You need help there son?” he asked.

          “My car died,” Toews gestured back to the Tahoe. “Any chance I could catch a ride into Buffalo?”

          The trucker nodded. “Sure.” He got back into the truck and Toews hurried around to the other side.

          “You have no idea how glad I am that you stopped,” Toews said climbing into the semi and stuffing his bag down at his feet.

          “Bad night to be stuck on the side of the road out there.” The trucker watched the road as he talked. “Name’s Charlie. You?”

          “Jon.” He figured he was safe with a first name. He wasn’t too sure how much he’d want some random trucker knowing exactly who he was, no matter how much of a lifesaver said trucker was.

          They were quiet for a few minutes.

          “Heading home for the holidays?”

          Toews shook his head. “My parents are in the Bahamas but I’ve got some friends in Buffalo.”

          “Girlfriend?” The trucker glanced over at him.

          Toews grinned. “Something like that.” Kane would be pissed if anyone called him a girl. “What about you?”

          “Heading home. My granddaughter’s birthday’s today and I promised her I’d be there.”

          “Is that her?” Toews asked looking at a picture stuck in the visor of a girl of maybe four with brown hair, green eyes, and a red Christmas dress holding a plush white teddy bear.

          “Yup.”

          Toews leaned back in the seat and listened to Charlie talk about his family for a while, watching the flakes of snow fly past the window, and thinking about Kane. He looked over when Charlie said, “That’s Lake Erie on the left, we should be in Buffalo in a few hours.”

          He couldn’t see much out the window, even now that the sun had risen, but he took Charlie’s word for it.

~~~

          It was ten o’clock before the semi pulled into the city. It was still snowing but without the wind it came down in gentle picturesque flakes.

          Charlie apologized for not being able to take him all the way.

          “Are you kidding? I was beginning to think I wouldn’t make it here at all.” He pulled out his wallet and tried to give Charlie some money for gas but he waived him off.

          “The company pays for that and it’s not like I was going out of my way. Besides, I was glad for the company.”

          As Charlie drove away, Toews pulled out his phone and made a quick note of the company and truck number. His phone had service again and he called a cab. He considered calling Kane to let him know he was in town but thought better of it. He’d rather see the look on Kane’s face when he showed up out of the blue.   

          Kane was probably at his parents’ house by now and that was the address Toews gave the cabbie.

~~~

          Kane was upstairs playing Candyland with his youngest sisters, keeping them occupied until after turkey when they were allowed to open their presents. It certainly wasn’t to keep himself from dwelling on the fact that Toews was still in Chicago and they wouldn’t see each other until the end of January.

          “Pat,” his mother called up the stairs. “There’s someone here to see you.”

          “I’ll be down in a minute,” he called back. His friends were constantly stopping by to check on him. He finished his move then got up. “No cheating while I’m gone,” he warned, mock serious, before leaving the room and heading downstairs.

          He stopped short at the base of the stairs and stared at the guy chatting with his mother in the great room.

          “Tazer?” he blurted out. He hugged him quickly as his mother quietly left them alone. “What…I thought you were stuck in Chicago?”

          Toews was actually grinning when he answered, “I drove most of the way, then the Tahoe broke down somewhere on the I-90 and I caught a ride with a trucker the rest of the way.”

          Kane stared at him, at a loss for words for once. Anything that crossed his mind sounded too mushy so he settled with, “You idiot, you drove through that storm?”

          “Yep.”

          Toews still looked pleased with himself.

          Kane shook his head in disbelief and tried to keep himself from looking as happy as he felt that Toews was there. “Come on, you can help me beat my sisters at Candyland. I’ll warn you though, they cheat.” He caught Toews hand in his and squeezed it gently as they walked up the stairs.

**Author's Note:**

> The title (and the basis for the plot) is from the song Hellbent for Buffalo by Aaron Pritchett.


End file.
